What If I Said?
by notjaneausten
Summary: 'Do we dare to cross that line between your heart and mine?, Would I lose a friend? Or find a love that would never end; What if I said' Daryl and Carol are debating whether to move their friendship up to the next level; the only trouble is that neither one of them has revealed their feelings to each other – only to Rick and Maggie. Rating changed for Mature content.
1. Chapter 1

AN: I was watching Season 3 just the other day and all of the sudden thought of perfect song that sums up the whole CARYL situation – the fabulous Steve Wariner's "What if I Said". Check out the complete lyrics at  .com and you'll see what I mean. Hope you like it!

"Maggie, do you have a minute?" Carol poked her head into Maggie's cell where the younger woman was cleaning her pistol. Maggie looked up and smiled over in greeting.

"Sure, come on in. Anything I can help you with?"

"Well, I know that we haven't exactly been close friends – I need someone to talk to and you're the only one I feel comfortable with since Lori passed away." Carol perched on the edge of Maggie's bunk and rubbed her suddenly sweaty palms over her pant legs to dry them off.

"What about Daryl? I thought that you and he were pretty close?" Maggie looked up in surprise, she had considered Carol a friend since they had spent the better part of a year together on the road but had never thought that she would be the one Carol would turn to in a crisis. After looking at Carol's expression when she had mentioned the hunter's name, Maggie nodded reflectively. "Ah….I see, it's hard to ask advice from someone that you're seeking advice on…if you get my drift."

"Yeah…oh Maggie I think that I've done something really stupid!" Carol fell back against the bunk and stared at the ceiling.

"Come on, it can't be that bad." Maggie put down the pistol and gave Carol her full concentration. "Tell me what can be so bad that you feel that you can't speak to Daryl about."

"Well, do you remember that first night at the prison when I took Daryl over some food to make sure that he ate something?"

"Yeah – he was on watch for a while; and then you both came back to the fire. I didn't notice anything offish – you're both not that big on talking up a storm, but I did get the feeling that something might have happened. Didn't like to say anything at the time, not my business."

"I can't believe that I'm actually going to say this…..Imadeapassathim….." Carol rushed the last words out in one breath and then buried her flaming cheeks in the crook of her arm. Maggie leant forward not quite believing that she had heard quite correctly.

"Excuse me? Do you want to run that last part by me again? Are you trying to tell me that you, shy and retiring Carol Peletier actually made a lewd suggestion to the tough, redneck Daryl Dixon?" Maggie slapped her hand against her thigh and chortled aloud.

"It's not funny – you should have seen his face! I haven't been able to look him in the eye since then. Sure we had a laugh about it at the time; but now…"

"Wait a minute – he laughed at you?" Maggie put her hand on Carol's arm and looked over at her friend's miserable face. "Do you mean to say that he thought it was just some joke?"

"I **made** it into a joke – Maggie, if you'd have seen the look of shock on his face when I asked if he wanted to screw around; I couldn't have borne to hear his refusal so I made a big joke out of the whole thing." Carol looked down at her hands and then back up to see what Maggie made of the whole thing.

"Maybe he was just shocked – it must have sounded pretty wild at the time; he may have said yes you know. I've seen the way he acts around you; he's always checking your opinion on things before he gives his own, he does care for you, Carol."

"I know he cares, but does he care enough. Do I dare to take that chance of telling him how I really feel only to lose his friendship if he doesn't feel the same? I think that would be worse than never telling him at all."

"And how do you really feel?" Maggie asked Carol quietly, watching her face carefully to gauge her emotions. Carol's features softened as she thought about the question – how did she feel about him?

"I respect and admire him as a man – something I could never do with Ed. I feel comfortable with myself when I am around him; I know that I can say or act however I want and he will never judge me. I love him, Maggie." Carol admitted her feelings aloud for the very first time and a soft smile transformed her face into the perfect picture of happiness.

"Then you need to tell him that. Don't you think that after everything we've all been through that we all should grab onto what little happiness we can find? You've lost your husband, your daughter too – what if there is a chance that he's feeling exactly the same way?"

"And if he doesn't?" Carol asked quietly, Maggie leant over on the bunk to enfold the older woman in a soft hug.

"Well, I've heard that a certain moustached former prison has been asking a lot of questions about you…..he seems mighty interested in our little Carol." Carol snorted with laughter and the two women embraced a final time before Carol rose to her feet and walked over to the door.

"Thanks for listening, Maggie."

"Will you at least think about what I said?" Maggie asked softly, not wanting the rest of the cell block to overhear.

"I'll think about it….can't promise anything, mind you. But I'll certainly think about it." Carol gave a small smile and wave and then headed off back to her own cell to do just that. Maggie sighed deeply as she turned her attention back to the cleaning of her pistol. She felt the cot mattress give next to her and looked up in surprise to see Glenn.

"You were so deep in thought that I didn't want to disturb you. Was that Carol I saw leaving earlier?" Glenn asked as he reached over to stroke his girlfriend's dark hair.

"Yeah….she's having a few issues with Daryl and wanted to talk it out."

"Ahhh….funny you should say that." Glenn mused as he twirled a strand of Maggie's hair around his finger, fascinated with the way it felt against his skin. Maggie pulled her head away and looked over at Glenn.

"Why 'funny'? What do you know?" She demanded, Glenn shrugged his shoulders dismissively.

"Oh nothing really, I just saw Daryl asking Rick to take a walk outside to 'check' the fences. Now, nothing has changed with those fences since the last time they were checked – which was by Rick himself this morning. Seems to me like Daryl has something on his mind as well – maybe it's Carol."

"Mmmmm…..interesting." Maggie remarked and refused to answer Glenn's pleas for more gossip, stating that Glenn would have to ask Carol himself if he wanted the juicy details.

"You mean there **are** juicy details?"

"Glenn, it's just a figure of speech. Don't read more into it than there really is."

"That means there is." Glenn almost squealed with excitement, Maggie turned her scowling face toward him.

"Glenn…." She warned, quietly. Glenn removed the smirking smile from his face and assumed a more serious expression.

"I know…shut up."

"You got it."


	2. Chapter 2

"So Daryl, you want to tell me why is it that you dragged me out here in nearly 100 degrees? 'Cause I know it ain't because you were desperate for my company or because there's something wrong with the fences. You've got me where you want me – so spill." Rick had waited until they had walked nearly to the end of the rear fence and stopped in the middle of the gravel walkway. He rested his hand casually on the butt of his pistol strapped to his gun belt and waited for Daryl to find his words.

Daryl hemmed and hawed for a few moments; kicking at the dirt with the toe of his boot and then looked over at his friend. "Rick – you ever had a woman practically asking you to sleep with you one minute and then laughing it off the next?"

"Cain't say that I have…When did this happen exactly?" Rick coughed a little to hide a smile; it was unusual to see the normally tough Daryl looking so bewildered and confused.

"Coupla weeks ago – first night we arrived, actually."

"What…ah…what were the circumstances of the 'proposition'? It might help if I knew the context…"

Daryl looked down at his feet and then fiddled with his crossbow, obviously uncomfortable with Rick's line of questioning. "Ah….I was giving her shoulder a rub – she'd been having some issues with rifle kickback and…"

"Shit Daryl! Maggie propositioned you?" Rick guffawed with laughter, he would have paid good money to have seen Daryl's face when that happened.

"Hell no! It was Carol…."

"Carol? Our Carol? Naw…you're having me on. Our Carol propositioned you?" Rick was amazed that Carol had been so forthright with the otherwise taciturn man. Carol usually couldn't say boo to a goose, and to think that she went right on up to Daryl and asked him to sleep with her, well!

"She asked me if I wanted to 'screw around'; said that it was 'romantic' and some such shit. Man, I didn't know what to say…this was Carol, for chrissake!"

"Then she just laughed it off? That doesn't sound like her at all…seems to me like she saw that you weren't interested and did it to save face." Rick mused aloud, and checked over to see how Daryl had taken his statement.

"Never said I wasn't interested….just took me aback." Daryl kept his face averted, aware that his cheeks were flaming with emotion.

"Oh…so you **are** interested then."

"'Course I'm interested…just never thought she would be."

"And now…?" Rick asked quietly, watching his friend closely.

"Now I don't know what to think! Or to do! She's hardly spoken to me since that night and I'm worried that if I say somethin' now she will just brush me off again. I've been keeping my feelin's to myself ever since Sophia died; hoping that she might come to see me as someone other than a friend, but I think that I'm just foolin' myself." Daryl started to pace across the narrow walkway, running his hands through his overlong hair and muttering to himself. Rick watched for a while and then up his hand to bring Daryl to halt.

"What if she does feel the same way but is feeling the same anxiety as you? You've been friends since the beginning and maybe she is just worried about losing that friendship."

"Ain't ever gonna happen….if she don't ever feel the same for me it don't matter. I'm still gonna be there for her no matter what." Daryl was adamant about that; he was never going to abandon the woman he loved – even if she never returned his depth of emotion; he was always going to be around, watching over her and keeping her safe.

"I think that you've just answered your own question." Rick patted Daryl on the shoulder and started to walk back to the courtyard.

"What was my question again?" Daryl fell into step next to Rick, feeling a little confused. He had thought that they were discussing whether Rick had ever been laughed at by a woman.

"Whether you should tell Carol that you love her….the answer is yes."


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next couple of days both Rick and Maggie watched as their friends skirted around each other nervously. Daryl would have normally offered to take Carol out hunting with him as he had done so many other times in the past, these days he seemed to prefer his own company. They no longer shared cosy chats at the end of the day and Carol would often make Beth take Daryl's food over to him if he had missed a meal.

Finally Rick decided it was time to see whether any of the rest of the group had any ideas about what to do about the whole situation. He waited until Daryl was out on a hunt and Carol had taken a shift in the guard tower keeping watch for any stray Walkers.

"People, we've got a situation brewing and I think it's time we intervened." He gathered everyone together around the metal tables in the centre of the cell block.

"What's up Rick?" Hershel asked in his soft Georgia drawl as he took a seat and propped his crutches up against the wall.

"It's about Daryl…has anyone spoken with Carol recently? Did she mention anything out of the ordinary happening between the two of them?" Rick passed his gaze over the group and lingered on Maggie who was looking down and twisting her fingers in her lap. "Maggie?"  
"She did mention something that was playin' on her mind…it was in confidence though, and I don't think that she'd appreciate us gossipin' about her behind her back." Maggie raised her head and stared Rick directly in the eyes, refusing to back down.

"I'm not asking you to gossip….I heard something from Daryl that he's feelin' pretty raw about and wondered whether there was anything we could do to soothe the waters."

"What did he say? And what do you mean by 'raw'? From what I heard from Carol, if anyone should be feelin' raw it's her." Maggie's eyes narrowed at Rick's phrasing and she pressed him for details.

"I thought you didn't want to gossip behind their backs?" Hershel remarked drolly, which caused everyone to laugh.

"I'll tell you what he said; if you'll tell me what she said." Rick offered a compromise and Maggie nodded.

"Agreed, only not here." Maggie ignored the protests from the rest of the group, eager to hear any hint of a possible romance brewing and gestured for Rick to follow her into the corridor. He waved everyone back to their seats with a pointed look at Glenn who had started to rise to his feet and followed Maggie into the corridor.

Waiting until they were nearly around the corner, Carl silently crept over to listen at the doorway. He made sure that he remained just out of sight, well into the shadows. He listened for a while and then turned back to the group.

"Something happened when Daryl was on watch the first night we came to the prison…."

"Go on….keep listening!" Glenn shooed him back to the door and Carl leant closer to the hallway.

"He was giving her a back rub and she offered him a chance to screw around…."

"Ooooohhhhh….." Beth squealed with delight and a round of shushes were heard.

"He thought she was joking…..they laughed it off…..Hey! That's great!" Carl exclaimed happily and then his excitement turned to sadness in the next instance. "Oh…they won't be friends anymore…"

"Carl! Come on, spill it!" Everyone urged Carl to return to the table and share the news. He walked slowly over and lay his hat in the middle of the table.

"Well it looks like they really do like each other, but neither one of them wants to take the chance of it ruining their friendship. It seems that Carol thought that Daryl was rejecting her, so she tried to pass it off as a joke. He seems to think that she is too embarrassed to talk about it so just won't talk to him at all." Carl stopped talking as soon as he heard his father and Maggie walk back into the room. Rick looked pleased after their conversation in the hallway and propped one booted foot up onto a stool and looked around the room.

"Well, I think that Maggie and I have come up with a plan to get the two of them talkin'. We're going to reorganise the shifts over the next couple of days so that the two of them are paired up as much as possible."

"Don't you think that's a little obvious, Rick? Just because you're paired with someone on a watch doesn't mean that you'll be in the same place all of the time. Daryl likes to walk the perimeter when he's on a night watch whereas Carol likes to have the advantage of overseeing things from the tower." Glenn pointed out the differences between their behaviours and watched as Rick's expression fell a little flat.

"How about we send them both out on a run together? We could use some formula and nappies for Judith – they would have to take a car rather than the bike and would need to be away overnight as we've pretty much drained the towns around here dry." Hershel offered up a potential solution which would force the pair into close proximity for at least two days if not more.

"That could work…." Rick rubbed a hand over his bristled jaw and thought about the logistics. "Axel, could you maybe tinker with Daryl's bike so that he can't take it out? Nothing that can't be repaired, I just want him to have no other option but to take a car. Glenn, take a look at a map and find me a town that's far enough away that they have to stay overnight – I want to give them as much time as possible….It'll be up to them to choose how they use it." Rick looked around the group, seeking agreement for the plan; receiving nods all around he moved his foot to the floor and braced his hands on his hips.

"I'll go and break the good news to Carol, Daryl should be back soon so I'll tell him as well. Axel, make sure Daryl doesn't catch you with his bike."


	4. Chapter 4

"Are you gonna talk to me or just sit there in silence all day?" Daryl looked over at his silent passenger, inwardly cursing Rick for forcing them to pair up for this run.

"Hmmm…sorry concentrating on navigating here, don't want us to get lost." Carol kept her attention focused on the map down her lap, not wanting to look over at him at all.

"Hallelujah…it speaks!" Daryl muttered under his breath and snuck a look over at Carol sitting with her legs crossed up yoga style in the passenger seat. _God she must be flexible in order to do that_, he thought to himself, sneaking a look at where her trousers had rode up to expose her delicate ankles.

"Hmmmm….what was that?" Carol asked, Daryl panicked a little thinking that he had spoken aloud about her flexibility and then realised that she must have been referring to his earlier statement.

"It's just that you've hardly spoken to me in weeks and I…well, I kinda miss you." There, he'd said it and the sky hadn't fallen in.

"I miss you too. Nothing's been the same since…."

"Yeah…I know." Daryl looked over and saw that Carol had placed the map down and was looking over at him, a little misty eyed. He reached over to grasp her hand and give it a squeeze. Carol returned the pressure and they both smiled. Dropping his hand and clearing her throat, Carol picked up the map again and pointed out a little town about twenty miles down the road.

"Here's one that we haven't tried – Woodbury. What do you think?" Daryl glanced over at the map and shook his head.

"Naw – don't think there's a pharmacy down that way; it's too close the other towns that we've already cleared out; we musta riled up too many Walkers in that area already. What else is there between Newnan and Senoi?" Carol scanned the map again, following the road south with her finger.

"Hmmmm….there's Sharpsburg; it's only about twelve miles outside of Newnan but we'd have to avoid Route 16 – that was almost as badly blocked as the Interstate – by the time we made it there tonight it would be too risky to try and find anything."

"There any sign of a motel that we could hole up in overnight?"

"No motels but there are a couple of mom and pop b and b's that might be a possibility."

"That might be better, the smaller the place the less chance that we'd have of it being crawling with Walkers." Daryl looked over for Carol's agreement, ever ready to acquiesce to her wishes. When she nodded her head, Daryl nearly sighed as it meant that things were finally starting to return to normal between the two of them.

They finally reached the outskirts of the town just before full dark; Daryl pulled up in an alleyway alongside a small bed and breakfast. He motioned for Carol to stay in the car whilst he checked out the surroundings and bit back a sigh when she simply drew her knife out of its sheath and got out of the car with him. "You stay here while I go check around back; I don't see any Walkers out on the street so they may all be inside the houses." Daryl had briefly scanned the small town as they were approaching; it was barely more than a mile wide and only had around a hundred houses. They would be fortunate to find anything even remotely resembling a pharmacy; he resolved to take a look through the first telephone directory he could find to see where the nearest doctor's office may be; chances were there would be a baby clinic attached close by.

Daryl silently walked down the alley way to approach the back of the bed and breakfast, he raised himself on his toes to peer through the windows into the lower rooms. Strangely enough, it appeared to be completely deserted. He walked around the side of the house to see Carol sitting on the front steps holding a note in her hands.

"Look…" She passed him the note, which he quickly read.

"'Have gone to meet our Lord. If you can find anything useful please take it with our blessings. Love, Jim and Patsy Topher.' Gone to meet their Lord – I hope they haven't gone to meet with Him in there…" Daryl crumpled up the note and gestured to the front of the house with his crossbow.

"No, I don't think so. I had a look around when you were driving through and there were a lot of churches with signboards outside. I was wondering whether they might have all decided to barricade themselves inside the churches to pray for some kind of salvation. Do you remember that little church that we went to when we were looking for Sophia? There were Walkers that looked like they had turned whilst sitting there praying."

"Well – let's check out the rest of this house, just to make sure it is completely clear. Then we can take a stroll over to the Baptist Church just over there and see whether you are right." Daryl led the way into the house, opening the door quietly and on full alert. He motioned for Carol to take the rooms on the right and he headed left. They slowly checked room by room and then met again at the bottom of the staircase. They headed on up and then split up again at the top to repeat the whole process.

They walked back the stairs and went down the hall to the large kitchen at the back of the house. Jim and Patsy had indeed left their house completely open to anyone in need. There were no signs of anybody having passed through as there were unopened tins of meat and dried crackers still heaped in a neat pile in the centre of the table.

"We'll open up a couple of these for supper and pack up the rest to take back with us in the morning, okay with you?" Daryl looked over for Carol's approval before opening up his pack to load in the remainder of the food.

"What's with asking for my approval all of the time? You usually just do something and tell me about it later." Carol took a seat at the table and pulled one of the cracker packets closer and started to peel off the label just for something to do with her hands. Daryl flopped onto the seat opposite and rolled a can over to inspect the contents.

"Well…just wanted you to know that I…respect yer opinions s'all."

"Oh, I see…look, I'm not really hungry at the moment. Shall we head on up to bed or are we gonna take a look at those churches?" Carol rose from the table and stood looking at Daryl. He mouth gaped open for a minute before he realised that she didn't mean for them to necessarily head up to the same bed but rather for them both to head upstairs to their separate beds.

"Ummm….the Church?" He suggested hesitantly, not wanting to make a point out of her poor choice of phrasing.

"Hmmmm…that's what I thought you would say." Carol murmured to herself and gestured for him to lead the way. Daryl shook his head, what kind of game was playing? Was she trying to drive him completely stark raving mad? 'Cos it was working whatever it was.

They walked silently down the deserted streets of Sharpsburg, alert to everything around them and not saying a single word. Daryl reached the steps of the Baptist Church in the centre of town and looked over at the heavy wooden doors. He stepped closer to press his ear against the door, listening for any signs of life – living or dead- from within. He looked back over at Carol and slowly nodded to indicate that there were Walkers inside; there was no mistaking the sound of the shuffling feet and groaning sounds. Daryl very carefully tested the handle on the outer door and wasn't at all surprised when it didn't turn beneath his hand. He pressed his face against the small side window and could just make out the heavy wooden bar that had been placed across the inside of the door. He drew his face back and scampered back down the steps before he agitated the Walkers within.

"You were right. From what it sounded like from listening at the door there's more than a few Walkers inside that Church. It seems that half of the town knew what was coming and decided to barricade themselves inside; which means they can't get out and we can't get in. I say we just leave them to it; no point in riling them into a frenzy, we'd only draw more this way." Daryl bent low to keep his voice from carrying over to the Church. Carol nodded and pointed in the direction of the Lutheran and Methodist centres along the street.

"Do you want to go over and check those out as well? I think I saw that there were a total of six Baptist, four Methodist and two Catholic churches listed on the map. I think we only need to worry about the ones in the town centre."

"I'll go and check them out, why don't you head on back to the B and B to get some shuteye? I won't be long." Daryl made the suggestion not for one second believing that she would take him up on it, so he was surprised when she simply nodded and walked away. He stood for a moment watching her walk away from him and wondered whether in a way she was walking away from him emotionally too.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning Carol found herself drawn out of sleep by a slow hand creeping up the inside of her shirt to gently caress her breasts. When she had returned to the house the previous evening, she'd deliberately left the bedroom door open and his pack on the empty side of the bed. Not being a foolish man, Daryl had taken the very broad hint and slid into the empty space behind her. As soon as she felt the mattress dip behind her Carol reached back a hand to pull his arm across her body; too tired to do anything more he had settled for spooning up close and fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. When the rising sun started to peek through the gaps in the curtain; it was a whole other ball game and he'd been trying to wake her up in his own special way ever since. Daryl could hear Carol starting to wake up by the little snorting noise she made every morning, he leant slightly over her shoulder and saw her nose wrinkle up and her hand coming up to rub at her eyes. He bit back a chuckle at the sight; it was one that never failed to make him smile and on more than one occasion had slipped straight out of camp in a hurry when he thought that the others might have picked up on his fascination with Carol's morning routine.

Daryl nuzzled his scruff against the exposed part of Carol's neck and daringly slipped open the last few buttons on Carol's shirt; leaving her chest exposed to the cool morning air, causing her nipples to bud in reaction. "Mmmmm… Morning, Pookie." Carol murmured softly and then let out a soft sigh as Daryl lightly tweaked her nipple between his long fingers in response.

"Glad to hear yer finally awake…" Daryl pressed a moist kiss against the side of her neck and nipped slightly with his teeth, causing to buttocks to press back further against his growing hardness in return.

"Mmmm….looks like someone else is definitely awake back there too…" Carol gave an experimental wiggle with her behind and Daryl bit back a muffled curse as he dragged his hand away from her breast to take a firm grip on her thigh to keep her from rubbing back against him any further. He manoeuvred them around on the bed so that he was lying above her and looking down onto her face. He rubbed his leather clad chest against her exposed breasts and dipped his head to steal a long, wet lush kiss, their tongues rubbing and sliding together in a slow duel. Long moments passed before Daryl finally raised his head, to stare deeply into the light blue eyes below him.

"Morning, sweets." He gently stroked through the short ends of her silver tipped hair that was just beginning to form slight waves as it grew out. His fingers dipped to trail over the freckles dotted over her nose and cheeks before coming to rest at her mouth where he rubbed back and forth across the lips plumped up from his kiss.

Carol's own hands were busy doing a little exploring of their own. She had slipped them between them to open the sides of his vest and currently following the path of his lightly haired chest to where it narrowed down just disappearing into the waistband of his pants. Her fingers circled around slowly before teasingly dipping in to tangle with the soft hair and gently tugging. Each time she gave a little tug, it caused his hips to rock against her rubbing his hard erection against her thighs. She undid the button holding his pants closed and slowly drew the zipper down, rubbing her knuckles against the firm length of him as she did so. Daryl leant his forehead down against her own and lightly shuddered at her touch. He hated doing so, but reached his own hand down to wrap around Carol's to stop her from going too far.

"Sweets….Shit! We cain't. Don't get me wrong, I'm about five seconds from proving just how much I want to…" He held onto her hand tightly where it lay pressed against him, hoping that she wouldn't interpret his words as yet another rejection.

"Oh…I see." Carol said, her voice falling flat with disappointment. What had all that been when she first woke up?

"No, Carol…it's not you. Think about it for a minute, will ya? Neither one of us came out here expecting this to happen…and well…Shit! I ain't got no condoms on me, and I respect you too much to be willing to settle for some dry hump in a stranger's bed!" Daryl rolled off of Carol's body and fell back against the bed raising his hand to his eyes in an effort to control his breathing. If he just lay there for a minute and didn't think about the sight of those glorious breasts; perfectly formed and just begging for his attention. _Down boy! Get a frickin' grip – try thinkin' about something else; anything else._ The embrace this morning had started out as just an extension of a hot dream he'd been having and before he was quite aware of the fact he had already been touching Carol and unbuttoning her shirt.

"Daryl, it's okay…don't feel bad about it...I love that you would want to put my safety first. I'm not so sure that I would still be able to get pregnant anyway…." Daryl gave a little piteous moan at Carol's words and she rolled over to face him.

"What's wrong? What did I say?"

"I was just beginnin' to go off the boil and then you had to mention gettin' pregnant…now look at it!" Daryl pointed down to where he was growing even firmer against the zipper of his pants.

"I though most men would see that as a turn off…isn't that the point of a condom?" Carol pulled the edges of her blouse together and tucked her hands under her head on the pillow.

"It wasn't exactly the thought of you bein' pregnant….it was the thought of **how** you would get that way…." Daryl winced a little as he tucked himself securely back inside his boxers and made sure that his pants were securely fastened. He rolled gingerly onto his side so that he was facing Carol and mirrored her pose with his hands under his ear on the pillow. "Anyway… what makes you think that you couldn't get pregnant anyway? You're still young enough, ain't cha?" Their voices were low and soft in the dim cocoon of the bedroom, the soft early morning light barely filtering through the heavy drapes.

"Well, I haven't gone through the menopause but none of the women in the group have had proper cycles in ages – we're not getting a nutritionally balanced diet and we're all probably suffering from the lack of vitamins and minerals." Carol smiled softly as she spoke, for some reason the thought of never being able to give this beautiful man lying beside her a child struck her hard. "I'm probably past my child bearing days anyway, but we should try and look out for some vitamins for Maggie and Beth; they are still young enough to want children in their future." As she spoke, Daryl could hear her unspoken words even clearly than the ones she spoke aloud. He reached over to gather her into his arms and dropped a kiss against her hair.

"Carol darling…I'm not looking at you to be my brood mare and I don't care whether you can still have children or not…it's **you** that I want, not some fantasy of a baby but you."

"You say that now, but what if you change your mind somewhere down the line?" Carol tucked her head into his chest and fought against the tears clogging up the back of her throat. How could he not want a child? He was so good with Judith and would make the perfect Daddy someday.

"We'll go and steal AssKicker when we feel the need…and I'm sure it won't be too long before Maggie and Glenn slip up and present us with another one to spoil….Speaking of which; we need to get a move on if we're gonna find that doctor's office. We still need milk for 'Lil Ass Kicker and we need to look for those vitamins too." Daryl forced Carol to look up at him to see just how serious he was about needing Carol for herself and not for her baby making abilities. She nodded slowly and he forced himself to break free from their embrace and rise. Leaning down with one hand pressed against the bed he bend his head to steal one last kiss.

"You make sure you take some of those vitamins for yourself, ya hear? Yer gonna need aller yer strength when we finally get back to base." He tipped her a wink suggestively and strolled out of the bedroom whistling through his teeth. "Be ready to roll in ten. I'll meet yer downstairs in the kitchen."

Carol fell back against the soft mattress and chuckled heartily; only Daryl could turn a serious conversation on its head like that. Carol rubbed a hand over her flat stomach wonderingly - was she still capable? Did she even want to know? There were the obvious risks of course, any childbirth was more dangerous in women over forty but even more so now that there were no hospitals; no midwives or doctors would be there in case of an emergency.

"Why am I even thinking about this? It's so stupid! Look what happened with Lori and she wasn't even thirty five!" There had been complications of course with Lori, Carol had known that Lori had needed a Caesarean section when she had given birth to Carl so it had been a foregone conclusion that she would have needed another with her second. Carol had not needed any intervention with Sophia; her labour had been over almost as soon as it had begun with Carol actually giving birth on a trolley in the hospital car park. She had been up on her feet within a matter of hours and apart from the fact that Sophia had been a fractious baby; waking the neighbours every night with her loud wails; she had enjoyed every moment of motherhood.

"Carol? Five minutes, sweets and then we really outta be goin'." Daryl's soft voice called up from the bottom of the stairs and snapped Carol out of her daydreams. _Right, the doctors' office for milk and vitamins; and I'm gonna start taking those vitamins today. If nothing happens, well that's life; but if it manages to kick start my system - well all I can say is Daryl will be the one needing vitamins then! _Carol smiled to herself at the thought of having enough guts to persuade Daryl to forego the need for a condom.

"Things could get very interesting indeed." Carol jumped up out of bed and quickly buttoned her blouse and finger combed her hair the best she could before running down the stairs to practically leap into Daryl's waiting arms.

"What's all this? Not that I'm complaining, mind you."

"Nothing, it's just good to be alive and here with you." Carol smacked a firm kiss against his mouth and felt him smile under her lips.

"Back at you, sweets. Ready to roll?"

"More than ready, let's go Pookie. We've got vitamins to find!"

The next morning Carol found herself drawn out of sleep by a slow hand creeping up the inside of her shirt to gently caress her breasts. She could that whilst she had slept Daryl had unbuttoned her blouse leaving her chest exposed to the cool morning air, causing her nipples to bud in reaction. "Mmmmm… Morning, Pookie." Carol murmured softly and then let out a soft sigh as Daryl lightly tweaked her nipple between his long fingers in response.

"Glad to hear yer finally awake…" Daryl pressed a moist kiss against the side of her neck and nipped slightly with his teeth, causing to buttocks to press back further against his growing hardness in return.

"Mmmm….looks like someone else is definitely awake back there too…" Carol gave an experimental wiggle with her behind and Daryl bit back a muffled curse as he dragged his hand away from her breast to take a firm grip on her thigh to keep her from rubbing back against him any further. He manoeuvred them around on the bed so that he was lying above her and looking down onto her face. He rubbed his leather clad chest against her exposed breasts and dipped his head to steal a long, wet lush kiss, their tongues rubbing and sliding together in a slow duel. Long moments passed before Daryl finally raised his head, to stare deeply into the light blue eyes below him.

"Morning, sweets." He gently stroked through the short ends of her silver tipped hair that was just beginning to form slight waves as it grew out. His fingers dipped to trail over the freckles dotted over her nose and cheeks before coming to rest at her mouth where he rubbed back and forth across the lips plumped up from his kiss.

Carol's own hands were busy doing a little exploring of their own. She had slipped them between them to open the sides of his vest and currently following the path of his lightly haired chest to where it narrowed down just disappearing into the waistband of his pants. Her fingers circled around slowly before teasingly dipping in to tangle with the soft hair and gently tugging. Each time she gave a little tug, it caused his hips to rock against her rubbing his hard erection against her thighs. She undid the button holding his pants closed and slowly drew the zipper down, rubbing her knuckles against the firm length of him as she did so. Daryl leant his forehead down against her own and lightly shuddered at her touch. He hated doing so, but reached his own hand down to wrap around Carol's to stop her from going too far.

"Sweets….Shit! We ca1n't. Don't get me wrong, I'm about five seconds from proving just how much I want to…" He held onto her hand tightly where it lay pressed against him, hoping that she wouldn't interpret his words as yet another rejection.

"Oh…I see." Carol said, her voice falling flat with disappointment. What had all that been when she first woke up?

"No, Carol…it's not you. Think about it for a minute, will ya? Neither one of us came out here expecting this to happen…and well…Shit! I ain't got no condoms on me, and I respect you too much to be willing to settle for some dry hump in a stranger's bed!" Daryl rolled off of Carol's body and fell back against the bed raising his hand to his eyes in an effort to control his breathing. If he just lay there for a minute and didn't think about the sight of those glorious breasts; perfectly formed and just begging for his attention. _Down boy! Get a frickin' grip – try thinkin' about something else; anything else._ The embrace this morning had started out as just an extension of a hot dream he'd been having and before he was quite aware of the fact he had already been touching Carol and unbuttoning her shirt.

"Daryl, it's okay…don't feel bad about it...I love that you would want to put my safety first. I'm not so sure that I would still be able to get pregnant anyway…." Daryl gave a little piteous moan at Carol's words and she rolled over to face him.

"What's wrong? What did I say?"

"I was just beginnin' to go off the boil and then you had to mention gettin' pregnant…now look at it!" Daryl pointed down to where he was growing even firmer against the zipper of his pants.

"I though most men would see that as a turn off…isn't that the point of a condom?" Carol pulled the edges of her blouse together and tucked her hands under her head on the pillow.

"It wasn't exactly the thought of you bein' pregnant….it was the thought of **how** you would get that way…." Daryl winced a little as he tucked himself securely back inside his boxers and made sure that his pants were securely fastened. He rolled gingerly onto his side so that he was facing Carol and mirrored her pose with his hands under his ear on the pillow. "Anyway… what makes you think that you couldn't get pregnant anyway? You're still young enough, ain'tcha?" Their voices were low and soft in the dim cocoon of the bedroom, the soft early morning light barely filtering through the heavy drapes.

"Well, I haven't gone through the menopause but none of the women in the group have had proper cycles in ages – we're not getting a nutritionally balanced diet and we're all probably suffering from the lack of vitamins and minerals." Carol smiled softly as she spoke, for some reason the thought of never being able to give this beautiful man lying beside her a child struck her hard. "I'm probably past my child bearing days anyway, but we should try and look out for some vitamins for Maggie and Beth; they are still young enough to want children in their future." As she spoke, Daryl could hear her unspoken words even clearly than the ones she spoke aloud. He reached over to gather her into his arms and dropped a kiss against her hair.

"Carol darling…I'm not looking at you to be my brood mare and I don't care whether you can still have children or not…it's **you** that I want, not some fantasy of a baby but you."

"You say that now, but what if you change your mind somewhere down the line?" Carol tucked her head into his chest and fought against the tears clogging up the back of her throat. How could he not want a child? He was so good with Judith and would make the perfect Daddy some day.

"We'll go and steal the Ass Kicker when we feel the need…and I'm sure it won't be too long before Maggie and Glenn slip up and present us with another one to spoil….Speaking of which; we need to get a move on if we're gonna find that doctor's office. We still need milk for 'Lil Ass Kicker and we need to look for those vitamins too." Daryl forced Carol to look up at him to see just how serious he was about needing Carol for herself and not for her baby making abilities. She nodded slowly and he forced himself to break free from their embrace and rise. Leaning down with one hand pressed against the bed he bend his head to steal one last kiss.

"You make sure you take some of those vitamins for yourself, ya hear? Yer gonna need aller yer strength when we finally get back to base." He tipped her a wink suggestively and strolled out of the bedroom whistling through his teeth. "Be ready to roll in ten. I'll meet yer downstairs in the kitchen."

Carol fell back against the soft mattress and chuckled heartily; only Daryl could turn a serious conversation on its head like that. Carol rubbed a hand over her flat stomach wonderingly - was she still capable? Did she even want to know? There were the obvious risks of course, any childbirth was more dangerous in women over forty but even more so now that there were no hospitals; no midwives or doctors would be there in case of an emergency.

"Why am I even thinking about this? It's so stupid! Look what happened with Lori and she wasn't even thirty five!" There had been complications of course with Lori, Carol had known that Lori had needed a Caesarean section when she had given birth to Carl so it had been a foregone conclusion that she would have needed another with her second. Carol had not needed any intervention with Sophia; her labour had been over almost as soon as it had begun with Carol actually giving birth on a trolley in the hospital car park. She had been up on her feet within a matter of hours and apart from the fact that Sophia had been a fractious baby; waking the neighbours every night with her loud wails; she had enjoyed every moment of motherhood.

"Carol? Five minutes, sweets and then we really outta be goin'." Daryl's soft voice called up from the bottom of the stairs and snapped Carol out of her daydreams. _Right, the doctors office for milk and vitamins; and I'm gonna start taking those vitamins today. If nothing happens, well that's life; but if it manages to kick start my system - well all I can say is Daryl'll be the ones needing vitamins then! _Carol smiled to herself at the thought of having enough guts to persuade Daryl to forgoe the need for a condom.

"Things could get very interesting indeed." Carol jumped up out of bed and quickly buttoned her blouse and fingercombed her hair the best she could before running down the stairs to practically leap into Daryl's waiting arms.

"What's all this? Not that I'm complaining, mind you."

"Nothing, it's just good to be alive and here with you." Carol smacked a firm kiss against his mouth and felt him smile under her lips.

"Back at you, sweets. Ready to roll?"

"More than ready, let's go Pookie. We've got vitamins to find!"


	6. Chapter 6

On the way back to the prison, Carol was sitting as close to Daryl as she could get without actually sitting on his lap. When they approached the first gate, she slid back across the bench seat as Daryl leant out of the window to holler at Glenn to get a move on and let them through.

"Hey, whatcha doin' all the way over there, woman? Git yer butt back where it belongs!" Daryl growled playfully and patted the empty space where she had been sitting.

"I didn't know whether…" Carol looked over at the empty seat and then back up at his face. She knew that Daryl was a very private man when it came to showing his feelings and didn't want to pressure him into making things between them known to the rest of the group.

"Ain't gonna tell ya again, woman…C'mon or I'll really give them something ta gossip about." Daryl raised his brow and smirked over at her sitting pressed up against the passenger door. Carol still didn't shift position and tried to get her head around his sudden lightness of character.

Daryl shook his head and rolled the truck through the first set of gates, and let the engine idle as he waited for Glenn to close the first gate and Maggie to open the second. He threw the truck into park and waited until Glenn was just about to step up alongside the truck before he made his move. He grabbed a small sack from the floor before climbing out of the truck and running around to the passenger side. Before Carol even knew what he was doing she felt herself being lifted up and cradled in his strong arms. He started to walk towards the courtyard, barely even registering the weight of her in his embrace.

"Need ta get ya eatin' more, woman. Cain't barely feel ya." He muttered quietly as Glenn raced up alongside him.

"Daryl? What's wrong? Maggie! Come quick!" Glenn panicked when he saw Daryl cradling Carol in his arms, immediately assuming that she had been injured.

"Glenn! Daryl! My God! Has she been bit? Why didn't you drive up to the yard? Shall I run up and get Daddy?" Maggie panted out as she closed the gate behind them and craned up to get a look at Carol, getting confused when there didn't seem to be any visible injuries.

"Jeez, take a breath, lady! Ain't nuthin' wrong with her, 'cept she don't seem ta know her proper place." Daryl gently tapped her buttock and Carol gasped in shock.

"Daryl Dixon! You put me down this instant!" She beat her small fist against his broad shoulder and he only winked and smirked in response.

"Nope, I think ya need a little reminding of that conversation we had this morning 'fore we set out ta the doc office." Daryl ignored her loud protests and continued carrying her along the gravel path. "If ya don't stop that squirming around I might have ta remind ya what we agreed on; don't think you'd be wanting an audience for that little talk." He tapped her buttock again, giving it a little squeeze for emphasis. Carol's face grew red as she remembered exactly what they had been talking about before they went out to find the doctor's office and baby clinic.

"Oh, from the looks of things **that **was a very interesting conversation." Glenn muttered to Maggie as he nudged her shoulder. Daryl caught his comment and sent a smirk over his shoulder.

"Yup, sure was. Hey, Glenn ya mind skipping back ta the truck and picking up the rest of the supplies? There's something I gotta do…" Daryl picked up the pace and hurried toward the cell block, in his haste something fell out of the sack and rolled down toward Maggie who bend over to pick it up.

"Ah…sure. What is going on with them?" Glenn scratched his head and glanced over at Maggie who was examining the object that had fallen out of the sack.

"Multi vitamins. He brought back multi vitamins. I felt sure that there were condoms in that sack. Did you see the way he squeezed her butt?" Maggie tapped the box with a fingernail as she stared up at the rapidly retreating figures disappearing into the cell block.

"I thought I was seeing things, the way he swept her up like that I felt sure she was injured. I mean, it is Daryl for goodness sake's and we all know that he doesn't invite touching."

"Yeah, what I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall right now." Maggie tapped the box again, forehead wrinkled in thought as she shaded her eyes to stare back into the courtyard. "C'mon, Walker Bait, let's get this stuff unloaded. Maybe someone in the cells will be able to fill us in later on."

"Yeah…" For once, Glenn was too distracted to notice that Maggie had called him by his hated nickname; instead his thoughts were on the couple that had recently entered the prison.


	7. Chapter 7

Daryl ignored everyone who peppered them with questions as soon as they entered the cell block. He simply growled and said that he and Carol needed a little chat and would appreciate it if everyone could clear the area; Hershel and Rick nodded and herded Beth and Carl out into the courtyard, assuming that something had gone wrong and Daryl wanted the space to ream her out in private. Daryl headed up the metal staircase and didn't stop until he set Carol down inside her cell. He stepped in himself and drew the privacy curtain across the door.

"Now, ya wanna tell me what had ya skirting away from me as soon as we got back into tha yard?" Daryl growled softly and paced up and down the small confines of the cell. "I thought we agreed that we were gonna give this thing between us a chance ta develop? Cain't do that if ya won't even let me touch ya!"

"Is that what all that caveman attitude was about? The fact that I moved away from you in the truck?" Carol stepped in close and pressed a hand against his scruff, feeling it scrape against her delicate flesh.

"Ya change yer mind or something? 'Cause ya need ta just tell me outright if ya have, I'll understand. Hell, I know I ain't exactly pretty ta look at…" Daryl dropped his chin and looked down at the floor, scuffing the toes of his boot against the other.

"Daryl Dixon, you stop that trashy talk this instant!" The sound of Carol's strident tone had him jerking his head up again in surprise. "How many more times do I have to tell you that you're a good man, and one that I would love to share the rest of my life with?"

"But…" Daryl was confused, did she want to be with him or not? He was getting conflicting signals and it was beginning to irritate the hell out of him.

"I moved away because I didn't want you to feel pressured into anything. You know how the rest of them will act when they find out about us…" Carol dropped her hand to rub the fabric of his vest between her fingers, knuckles scraping at the bare expanse of flesh revealed by the open collar of his shirt and vest.

"Feel ma heart pounding, woman? That's the only sound that I'm gonna hear whenever yer around. Ain't gonna let it worry me what the others might have ta say." Daryl pulled her tight against his body and wrapped his arms firmly around her waist. "Don't do that ta me again, Carol. Don't think I could stand it; feeling ya pull away like that nearly tore me clean in two."

"Love you, Pookie."  
"Love ya, too." Daryl dropped a kiss to the end of her nose and she giggled in response. "Now, let's go and give 'em somethin' ta gossip about." Daryl grabbed her hand and hustled her out of the cell.

"What did you have in mind?" Carol asked with a smile as he led her through the cell block and out into the courtyard; she could see that he was scanning the yard for any signs of danger and kept her firmly against his left side, keeping his right arm free for using his crossbow should the need arise.

"Ain't rightly sure, I'll let ya know when I've come up with somethin'." Daryl replied as they walked further into the yard. "Yeah, that'll do it." He steered her in the direction of where Rick was sitting on the metal benches with Judith cradled in his arms. Making sure that Carol's hand was grasped firmly within in his own, Daryl cleared his throat to capture Rick's attention. Rick looked up and smiled inwardly as he saw the couple holding hands in front of him, the hunter looking just a little uncomfortable but determined at the same time.

"Rick, just wanted ya ta know that I'm gonna be bunkin' in with ma woman from now on. Thinkin' about clearin' out some space over in the admin block for some more comfortable livin' quarters, ya see any problem with that?" Daryl shifted his feet, almost daring the other man to make some sort of joking remark. Rick might have done that with anyone else apart from those two, God knows if anyone deserved a chance of happiness it was Carol and the quiet Dixon man; he might have been struggling with his own misery but wasn't about to stand in the way of anyone else's joy.

"No. No problem at all, give you a hand clearing it out this afternoon if you like. I'm sure Carl will be only too glad to pitch in." Rick smiled over at the couple and then turned to shout over to Carl. "Carl, want to give me a hand clearing out a space over in Admin for Carol and Daryl to move into?" Carl wasn't the only one to look up in surprise at the shock announcement.

"Admin block? Hey, why weren't we offered a space over there too?" Glenn walked into the yard just as Rick was calling over to Carl. Rick overheard his whining and raised his brow questioningly.

"Maybe if you had volunteered to clear it out, the two of you could've had your own little love nest."

"Love nest? You mean…?" Glenn pointed over to Carol and then to Daryl and groaned in misery. Hershel held out hand and Glenn slapped his last packet of mints into the older man's waiting palm.

"Thank you, son. Now what's the lesson learned here today?" Hershel popped one of the mints into his mouth and waited for Glenn to respond.

"Never bet on a sure thing." Glenn muttered and Hershel laughed loudly and slapped his back.

"That's right. Remember that next time you want to place a bet against the house." Hershel had made a stray comment one evening over a game of cards that it was a pity that Carol and Daryl hadn't ever gotten past the friendship stage; Glenn had immediately stated that it would never happen due to Daryl's loathing of being touched; commenting that the man even flinched away at the most fleeting caress. Hershel had only laughed and said that for someone who was as young as Glenn was, the boy couldn't see the wood for the trees. He'd seen the way that Daryl softened around Carol; letting her past the defences that he'd put up to keep the rest of the world at bay and now it seemed that Hershel had been right all along.

"I'm sure that if you and Maggie offered your help in cleaning up the place, they could see their way clear to letting you visit from time to time. Might be warmer than up in the guard tower..." Hershel laughed at the flush spreading over Glenn's face.

"How...?" Glenn spluttered, he and Maggie had been slipping out to the guard tower for a little more privacy, but always made sure that Hershel was asleep before tiptoeing past his cell.

"I've lost a leg, Glenn, not my hearing or my eyesight." Hershel slapped Glenn on the back, leaving him to wonder how he knew about their not so secret midnight meet ups and wandered off to see what he could do to help make the move go smoothly for his favourite new couple.


End file.
